Buried
under a thick veneer of glossy 1980s cheese, Steve De Jarnatt’s
Miracle Mile offers an unusual mix of
paranoia and against-all-odds romance. This high concept thriller begins with an
extended, idyllic courtship but conjures a doomsday scenario after young
musician Harry (Anthony Edwards) accidentally hears a phone call that convinces
him that a nuclear disaster will break out in about an hour. From this point
onward, the film takes place in close to real-time, as the hero and a woman he’s
only recently become smitten with (Mare Winningham) attempt to escape Los
Angeles. Set largely over the course of one night,
Miracle Mile features a madcap cast
of supporting characters to impede the hapless hero, calling to mind Scorsese’s
After Hours. The tone here is
alternatively goofier and more serious than in Scorsese’s film, though,
resulting in a movie that powers by on energy far more than by thought.

This isn’t to discount the unique achievements of
Miracle Mile. It is a drama with
considerable ambition (often too much ambition…). The opening scenes, set in a
Natural History museum, recount the evolutionary process establishing a scale
that all that follows almost manages to live up to. As the two main characters
traverse city streets, shopping malls and fitness clubs, the rest of the world,
caught up in an increasing sense of panic, fades away, deepening the feeling
that they have a love worth saving. Winningham and Edwards give winning,
extremely likeable performances, in roles that have them compressing what feels
like a lifetime’s worth of relationship drama into an evening. If the intensity
of their emotions feel a bit strained at times, then the film only gains added
meaning, as their actions could easily be interpreted as a desperate delusion
devised to fend off their very real fear of death.

Miracle Mile is a
deliberately quirky film that has been directed with considerable verve by De
Jarnatt. His showy uses of slow motion, tracking shots, and expressive lighting
effects intensify what is an already intense story. The score, by Tangerine
Dream lends dreamy atmosphere when the visuals don’t get the job done alone.
Miracle Mile is a singular film,
despite its outwardly commercial premise. Its offbeat determination and manic
energy all conjured in the name of love become almost inspiring. By focusing one
frantic couple’s attempts to salvage their future together it channels Cold War
anxieties into something beautiful.